Democratic governor candidate Chris Kennedy declared Thursday that if elected he would “govern as a feminist,” as he sought to intertwine his family’s political heritage with women’s issues at a luncheon featuring his mother, Ethel Kennedy, and two of his sisters.

The fundraiser, which drew more than 350 people with ticket prices starting at $250, marked a rare trip by the 89-year-old family matriarch, human rights activist and widow of Robert F. Kennedy to the city of her birth, where she was born and raised on the South Side. […]

Speaking to the audience, Chris Kennedy accused Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner of engaging in a “war on women” largely as a result of the lengthy stalemate that kept Illinois without a budget until a tax-and-spending package was enacted over his veto.

“As governor of Illinois, I’ll govern as a feminist,” Kennedy said. “I know that when we recognize the importance of women in our lives and in our communities, when we allow them to empower themselves by removing the systemic barriers that exist, only then can we make the growth of our economy, the viability of our state and the security of our future a reality.”

Because we believe in fair compensation and a $15 an hour minimum wage in which America’s full-time [workers] don’t have to live in poverty, we must also believe in fair compensation so that women are paid equally for their work.

Because we believe that government has a role in establishing minimum coverage for all citizens across all aspects of healthcare, so too must we believe that women must be afforded sufficient time with their child after giving birth without sacrificing income.

We cannot punish women for being moms.

Because we believe there is an absolute role for the government to intervene in systemic violence, we must also believe that there is a special role for the government to intervene in domestic violence.

Because we recognize that there’s a disproportionate number of women living in poverty, we must make eliminating poverty not only part of advancing equality for women but part of the agenda for the entire country.

As governor of Illinois, I’ll govern as a feminist.

When we recognize the importance of women in our lives and in our communities, when we allow them to empower themselves by removing the systemic barriers that exist, only then can we make the the growth of our economy, the viability of our state and the security of our country a reality.

* And this is an e-mail which came over the transom…

Chris Kennedy claims he will be a “feminist” governor, but his words and actions don’t match up.

Kennedy has yet to tout any women endorsing his campaign and he has repeatedly showed up late to women’s events. During a Mom + Baby event, he showed up an hour late and was “condescending and rude” to a women’s political group. An organizer said she “didn’t think Kennedy would’ve had the same behavior with a group of men.”

But this wasn’t the first time. He’s missed many gubernatorial forums and he was the only major gubernatorial candidate to miss forums hosted by women’s groups, including the Democratic Women of South Suburbs.

It’s not just skipping forums and showing up late for women’s events though. He also hasn’t modeled his campaign as the “feminist” he claims to be. His top staffers are predominantly men, including his campaign manager, deputy campaign manager, ad maker and strategist, spokesman, deputy finance director, volunteer and outreach coordinator, and at least three consultants.

Finally, when asked about his support for a woman’s right to choose, Chris called it the “abortion thing,” saying “we have laws in our country and the laws are the laws.” He then awkwardly shifted to talking about his wife’s appointment at the OBGYN, saying “The woman never even looked at me. Never even looked at me.”

I dunno. He’s late to a lot of stuff. And the spokesperson I deal with at the Kennedy campaign is a woman.

Weak push back… JB is going to keep harping on the Mom + Babies, which is run by a JB supporter and is being pushed by her friend and JB, Rahm, and Blago advisor Becky Carroll. The link to the downstate woman’s event was to a tweet from a man. Pretty sure it wasn’t a woman’s event. And there are a lot of woman in leadership roles on the campaign. Try harder Pritzker-ites.

I was really prepared to support Kennedy until the missteps kept piling up. I would also like to note that in his list of feminist things that right to choose is not among them. I am obviously not the only one to notice that he evades questions about abortion, and not very skillfully. Kennedy needs to make his position clear. He can be personally against abortion and still support choice. He can be whatever he wants - but just be clear. I know a number of women in state government who will not support him because he will not answer that question directly.

So you can support every feminist piece of legislation, use political capital to get it passed, fundraise for women candidates, have women in power positions on your staff, use your bully pulpit to call attention to women’s issues, but if you’re late to a “mom + baby” event, THAT’S a dealbreaker.

== His top staffers are predominantly men, including his campaign manager, deputy campaign manager, ad maker and strategist, spokesman, deputy finance director, volunteer and outreach coordinator, and at least three consultants.==

This is just untrue. One trip to Kennedy’s campaign HQ would demonstrate this.

@ Arsenal “It’s going to be hard for him to out-feminist the guys who actually chose women as their running mates.”
There is more to being a feminist than the sex of one’s running mate– look to Rauner and Evelyn Sanguinetti.

I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an’ pretend
‘Cause I’ve heard it all before
And I’ve been down there on the floor
No one’s ever gonna keep me down again

Oh yes, I am wise
But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong
(Strong)
I am invincible
(Invincible)
I am woman

You can bend but never break me
‘Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
‘Cause you’ve deepened the conviction in my soul

Oh yes, I am wise
But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong
(Strong)
I am invincible
(Invincible)
I am woman

I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin’ arms across the land
But I’m still an embryo
With a long, long way to go
Until I make my brother understand

Oh yes, I am wise
But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can face anything
I am strong
(Strong)
I am invincible
(Invincible)
I am woman

I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong
I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong
I am woman

Because we recognize that there’s a disproportionate number of men who commit suicide, who die on the job, and who are murdered, we must make eliminating these gross disparities not only part of advancing gender equality but part of the agenda for the entire country. Fixed.

Time for him to go. He can’t win if he’s his own worse enemy. Rauner is under fire from his own base, now is the time for Kennedy, Daiber, and Biss to unite. It would be the chance to take Rauner out, be united, and have a strong message that wouldn’t require a million tv commercials from here to March. That may be JBs undoing even when he wins people will be sick of him come next November!

Not to say women’s issues aren’t important to CK, but I’m sure a huge part of having a women’s event was to bring in the Kennedy women including his mother. Ethel is an amazing person who has lived through horrible personal tragedies very publicly and always displayed such strength and grace. And my point being, 350 people spending at least $250 a pop. I’m sure he just raised at least $250k, which he desperately needs, that’s why he had this event.

TP - read the letter to Rich - I’m mocking the criteria of the letter writer for who is sufficiently feminist. Let’s be honest, there’s no way of knowing which one of these candidates would push a feminist agenda the hardest - they’ll all give about the same lip service, and none of them are going to be pro-lifers.